La. Guard hosts 18th annual All-Hazards Coordination Workshop

By Staff Sgt. David C. Kirtland, Louisiana National Guard Public Affairs Office

NEW ORLEANS – The Louisiana National Guard hosted its 18th annual All-Hazards Coordination Workshop at the Higgins Hotel New Orleans, March 10-12. The event brought together representatives from all 54 states and territories to assess worst-case emergency scenarios, coordinate potential response efforts, identify capability gaps, and establish Emergency Management Assistance Compact commitments.

Throughout the three-day workshop, participants engaged in disaster coordination discussions, shared best practices in regional breakout sessions, conducted tabletop exercises, and refined EMAC support strategies.

“The planning and coordination happening this week are essential to ensuring all our states are prepared for worst-case scenarios,” said Col. Augusto Villalaz, director of the Joint Staff for the LANG. “Louisiana has both received and provided EMAC support over the last decade, reinforcing the importance of these partnerships.”

EMAC is the nation’s mutual aid system, allowing states and territories to request and provide assistance during emergencies or disasters.

Following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, more than 65,000 personnel from 48 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands deployed under EMAC. The LANG organized its first EMAC conference based on lessons learned from those efforts. Since then, it has hosted 17 previous workshops to enhance interstate coordination.

“What we do matters—it enables U.S. citizens to benefit from the best capabilities of each state’s National Guard,” Villalaz said. “Whether responding to hurricanes, wildfires, floods, or security missions at the U.S. border, we are all ready to assist because of the planning done during this workshop.”

Since 2018, the National Guard Bureau’s Plans, Policy and International Affairs Directorate has also hosted the National Joint Planners Course for many of the same planners and leaders who attend the All-Hazards Coordination Workshop.